He wasn’t in my garden and disappointment flashed through me until I heard voices drifting across from Dave’s patch of land. I peered over the fence. Thane was doubled over – and topless. So was Dave for that matter, but he didn’t float my boat in the way that Thane did.
I watched for several moments, enjoying the way the sweat trickled down my werewolf’s back. His scars, which would be a part of him until the day he died, were no longer something of which he felt ashamed. I liked to think that I’d given him the confidence to no longer care about what they looked like to the outside world, even though I knew that it was Thane himself who’d pushed past his traumatic teenage years and learned to be proud of what he was, both inside and out.
‘Are you going to stand there and watch?’ he grunted without raising his head. ‘Or are you going to help?’
No contest. ‘I’m going to stand here and watch.’ I might also drool.
Dave straightened up, wiped his hands on the front of his jeans and scowled. I grinned at him. ‘What are you two doing?’
‘Digging a hole, of course.’ He motioned to the pile of earth beside his feet.
‘Dare I ask why?’
‘No.’
‘Are you burying treasure?’
‘No.’
‘Digging a well?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
I tilted my head.
‘I don’t ask you why you’re messing around like a teenager,’ Dave sniffed. ‘If you want to go out and party all night and stay in bed until the afternoon, then it’s not my place to judge.’
Except judging was exactly what he was doing. ‘I was working,’ I told him. ‘Not partying.’
Dave snorted and waved a hand at the muddy hole. ‘I’m working, too.’
Okay, then.
Thane dropped his shovel and straightened up, a crooked smile on his face. My heart flipflopped and I forgot about Dave’s hole. ‘Hey you.’
‘Hey.’ His smile widened. ‘I didn’t want to bother you too early, so I thought I’d make myself useful until you were up and about.’
There were streaks of mud on his forearms and his chest and, thanks to his sweaty work, his vetiver scent was stronger than ever. The urge to jump his bones despite Dave’s presence was almost overwhelming. I had never found dirt and sweat sexy before, but I supposed it came down to who the dirt and sweat were clinging to.
‘She’s got that look in her eye,’ Dave muttered. ‘Watch her.’
Thane licked his lips. ‘I intend to.’
My lust intensified. I had always assumed that my sex drive would be subdued somewhat as I grew older but that hadn’t happened since I’d been confronted with Thane on a regular basis. Sometimes I had to pinch myself to remind myself that I wasn’t dreaming. A long-term romantic partnership had never been one of my goals, but a lady could definitely change. Even a cat lady.
‘Go on,’ Dave sighed. ‘I’ll finish up here on my own. The two of you ought to take this inside before you shock the neighbours.’
‘Youarethe neighbours,’ I said.
Dave clutched his chest with a tattooed hand. ‘And I am very, very shocked.’ He winked then his characteristic scowl returned with greater force.
I smiled at him; that scowl was how I knew that Dave heartily approved. Then Thane jumped over the fence and I forgot about Dave, my cup of coffee and everything else.
The showerin my small bathroom wasn’t designed for two people, but where there was a will there was a way. I carefully lathered soap over Thane’s back, before nudging him to turn around so I could pay the same attention to his front. Hot water cascaded over both of us. I scrubbed his chest and his taut torso while he took a dollop of shampoo and returned the favour by massaging it into my hair.
‘You don’t think that Trilby is involved?’ he asked.
‘It’s difficult to know anything for certain where Trilby is concerned,’ I replied. ‘But no.’ I half-closed my eyes while his fingers pressed gently into myscalp.
